Men's A 2010 Club Championships


Men's A Platform Tennis Champions
Alex Seiler and Rodney Larson

Eight teams showed up on March 20, ready to battle for bragging rights as the Club’s best platform tennis duo. Unseasonably warm temperatures and bright sunshine (since when is this a bad thing) made for some interesting play, as the balls seemed to play a little spongier and bounce a little higher than usual.

The finals paired Naren Dhamodharan and Gary "TTM" Ulrich vs. Rodney Larsen and Alex "Never too intense" Seiler. The match was awesome, and almost went three sets. In the end, Rod and Alex pulled out a second set tie-break victory to seal the deal. In the consolation bracket, Bob Conley and Dick Forrest upended Bill Santaniello and Alex Guardia.

Thanks to Alex for supplying the tunes and many thanks to Per, Asa, Leslie and Mike for helping drive the food, drink and tournament layout.

We look forward to finishing up another successful platform tennis season and thank all those who participated in this year’s Club championship.

— Mike Shields

Mixed Paddle Championship


2010 Mixed Paddle Champions Jeff and Kate Morneau



The Mixed Paddle competitors gather for a snapshot (missing from
photo is Hans Doup)

Saturday, March 27th , the re-scheduled day (due to rain) of the Mixed Paddle Championship, was a beautiful day for paddle. The weather was sunny with no wind, and the temperature warmed up into the mid-40s. Four teams competed for posterity, for their names on the paddle hut plaque, and for prizes. There was a round-robin format, so all teams played each other, with the top two playing in the final and the bottom two playing in the consolation final.

Jeff and Kate Morneau came out on top in the final, taking 2 out 3 sets from Alex Seiler and Kelly Hellstein. Dick Forrest and Sara Suchy squeaked out the consolation final win over Hans Doup and Leslie Haskins in an 8-game pro set. Bottles of wine were the prizes for all four finalists, and the four runners-up were given lottery tickets, as consolation.

Special thanks to Leslie Haskins for getting most of the women involved and for bringing all of the nutritious breakfast food. Also, special thanks go to Bob Barnhart, Gerrit Toebes, and Sue and Dick Forrest, all of whom helped out with the planning and implementation of a successful day of championship paddle.

— Dick Forrest

Congrats to the Men’s B Champions!


Men's B 2010 Championship Finalists

Ten teams set out to become the 2010 Men's "B" Champion on Saturday, March 6. After every team had completed four preliminary eight-game pro-sets, the four teams with the highest point totals (Conley/Forrest, Guardia/Santaniello, Jangraw/ Weiner and Doyle/Hauser) qualified for the semi-finals. Before the semis began, all participants were treated to a lunch of grinders from Frigo's, and for the non-semi-finalists, some refreshments from the Bottle Shop.

In the semis, Conley/Forrest defeated Doyle/Hauser in two sets and Guardia/Santaniello got by Jangraw/ Weiner in three sets, leaving the two unbeaten teams to battle for the championship. With the beautiful weather and strong competition, almost all of the losers (the teams that were not in the semi's or the final) stuck around to watch. Relaxing in the hazy sunshine and 50-degree heat, it felt more like an afternoon in Havana, Cuba, than the first weekend in March in New England.

Conley/Forrest beat Guardia/Santaniello in a 7-5 tiebreaker in the first set and went on to also win the second set, taking home the "B" championship, as well as a couple bottles of wine. Congratulations again to our Field Club 2010 "B" Paddle Champions, Bobby Conley and Dick Forrest!

– Brian Prast

Denmark Takes the Lead at Davis Cup

The ever-popular Davis Cup Tournament took place at The Field Club on Saturday, February 20. After some last minute "trades" and replacements, captains Brad Hoffman, Lynn Travers, Tom O' Brien and Gerrit Toebes had their respective teams (Greece, Sweden, Denmark and Italy) lined up for a great day of competitive and fun paddle. Each team consisted of five men and three women, making for two men's double teams, a mixed team and a women's double team for each round of play. Every team member could only play once with each other.

Each match was an eight game pro set. After many very close and exciting matches, it turned out to be a "photo finish." Team Denmark ultimately prevailed with eight wins, and teams Greece and Italy came in with seven wins.

Greece captain Brad Hoffman claimed second place, since Greece did beat Italy. However, since this was not established as a rule up front, Italy claims a joint silver medal. The case is headed for international arbitration.

A healthy breakfast with plenty of fruit was served, and many participants also enjoyed lunch. Afterwards, 25 people attended the Davis Cup Dinner at the Longmeadow Country Club. An excellent menu featuring a choice of Parmesan Crusted Swordfish, Chicken Marsala and Grilled Greater Omaha Filet Mignon was offered. It was the perfect end to a wonderful day.

— Gerrit Toebes

Fun for All at Oscar Event

What a perfect day for the 4th Annual Women’s Oscar Paddle event on March 7! Participating ladies were decked out in their finest paddle/Oscar attire. All the courts were in full swing, as the women enjoyed an afternoon of sunshine, champagne and paddle. The paddle hut television was tuned to the fashions of the red carpet, while the women dined on dinner catered by Iron Chef. After the votes were tallied, the winner of our own little Oscar (for getting the most right on who the winners would be at the Academy Awards) was Candy Weiner.

Thank you, everyone, for playing in this year’s event.

—Candy Weiner, Lynn Travers, Cathy Herchel

Men’s 95+ Tourney a Success

The weather was perfect as 15 teams from around region 2 (New England) descended on Longmeadow on November 21, 2009, to compete for the coveted title of Pioneer Valley Men's 95+ Tournament. The requirements for eligibility are combined age of 95 years or greater for each team’s members, current membership in the APTA (American Platform Tennis Association) and a love for paddle competition.

A team from the Rhode Island and Boston area (Dan McCormick/Steve Heath) won, defeating a team from Madison, CT (Dave Clark/Phil Johnson). Five local teams participated, with Gary Ulrich/Jeff Morneau making it to the semi-finals of the main draw. The veteran team of Hans Doup/Rod Larsen won the reprieve over a tough team from Madison, CT. Rick Steele/Rob Durfee won the consolation over a Boston team, coming off a hard fought three-set match against Doug Jangraw/Brad Hoffman. After a solid win over another team from Madison, Bob Conley/Dick Forrest made it to the semis of the last chance.

Special recognition and thanks to our "Hut Angels,” Leslie Haskins and Asa Nilsson. They deserve all the credit for the success of this event... spending the entire day (surrounded by guys) making sure matches started on time, recording scores, providing food and drinks at the huts and helping to clean up at the end of the day. All enjoyed the event and had plenty of paddle. We hope to see more local teams next year.

— Rob Durfee

Images from the 2009 Longmeadow 95+ Tournament













Sadie Hawkins Tourney Offers Non-Stop Action

January 23 was the date of this year’s Sadie Hawkins tournament, where the ladies choose their paddle partners. Can you imagine a better tournament? What fun!

We had a record turnout this year, with eight teams vying for the coveted title. Any more teams and we would have needed a 5 th court (Rob Durfee paid us to say that….).

Action was non-stop, with all participants displaying incredible energy, precision drives, sky-scraping lobs, unbelievable speed and superb shottery. Although the tournament schedule was quite confusing to some of the less intelligent participants, we eventually made it through the qualifying rounds, with teams Plaut (Carol), Travers (Lynn), Herchel (Kathy) and Kenney (Jackie) reaching the semi-finals. The semis were nail-biters to say the least, with Plaut and Travers eventually prevailing to the finals.

The place was packed for the final round, with no empty seats at the picnic table – and the crowd was rewarded with a level of play that we can honestly say (and hope) will never be repeated. First set to Plaut 6-4! Plaut then sprinted out to a 3-1 lead in the second set, and the crowd was expecting a snoozer. But wait! Travers stood firm and eventually prevailed 6-4. Now what? You could cut the tension with a knife! No-one should have to lose after such brilliant play!

In the end, it was the (pause…………..) the P L A U T team that turned out to be too good, as they steamrolled Travers by a score of 6-3 in the third. Travers thought about protesting, but good sports-womanship prevailed in the end. Alas, it will be a long, cold winter for the Travers team, but it was an exhilarating weekend for everyone else who participated.

Congratulations to Carol Plaut for her victory and Lynn Travers for her near-win. Thanks also to all participants. It was a great time, and we hope to see you all back (with some additional teams) next year!

P.S. For what it’s worth, Brad Hoffman and Doug Jangraw were Lynn’s and Carol’s partners. Congrats guys!

— Doug Jangraw and Garrit Toebes

Random Paddle Observations

Club member Mike Shields was the first person to upload a platform tennis video to YouTube, and now it is commonplace to view them there. You can see platform tennis tutorials galore, thanks to the PPTA (Professional Platform Tennis Association), the organization of teaching platform tennis pros.

We are fortunate to have Club Manager Jim Girotti overseeing platform tennis court maintenance. We’ve had issues with everything you can think of, most recently heaters, fans, electrical cords, our paddle hut furnace, etc. Jim addresses each problem in a timely manner as it arises. Club member Larry Eagan of Collins Electric has also been instrumental in helping with paddle court maintenance. And, Club President Dave Appleman tends to the maintenance of the paddle courts as if they were his children. For safety alone, it’s critical that the courts be in tip-top shape for our players, as well as regional players outside of our Club. This season’s addition of timers for the paddle court heaters is a great benefit for reducing heating costs, thanks to Collins Electric.

We have three tournaments open to regional players on this paddle season’s schedule of events: Rob Durfee’s Longmeadow 95+ Tournament, Dave Fuller’s Western New England Open, and now, the Pioneer Valley B-Women’s Tournament, hosted by Leslie Haskins and Asa Nilsson. In addition, the Paddle Committee has put together a great schedule of events exclusively for our members.

Some notable Club members are playing in Region 2 (New England) Paddle Tournaments. As of this writing, Alex Seiler and Naren Dhamodharan are the 2nd place team in the Men’s President’s Cup Standings in New England, which is very impressive. Jeff Morneau and Brad Hoffman are also ranked in those standings. Per and Asa Nilsson won a mixed tournament earlier in the paddle season up in Vermont. Tricia Bloom and her partner, Deirdre Redden, 2005 National Seniors Champions, got to the semifinals of a major women’s tournament in the Boston area. Leslie Haskins continues to play several women’s tournaments in Region 2.

— Dick Forrest

Paddle Mania

From Platform Tennis Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 3 that can out at the end of January, in reference to the Greater Boston Women's Open: "[Field Club member] Leslie Haskins stayed to the bitter end and helped clean the hut and brought all the recyclables home. The best was her email that night that said, 'I lost all three matches but had the best day and sang Christmas carols the whole way home.' You have to love the Region II attitude."


Co-chairpersons: Leslie Haskins & Scott Brindle
Board Liaison: Gerrit Toebes